This Creamy Tomato Pasta Bake, created and photographed by Rachael Hunt of GlutenFreedom Inc., is free from gluten, dairy and nuts!

Gluten Free Garage sponsors Italpasta and Fiesta Farms sent Rachael Hunt, founder of GlutenFreedom Inc. (and my good friend), on a shopping spree to gather the ingredients to create a delicious family-friendly and allergy-friendly (gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free) pasta dish. She made a creamy tomato pasta sauce, otherwise known as a rosé. This kind of sauce is typically laden with heavy cream and butter, but not the GlutenFreedom version! (All the ingredients for this dish are available at Toronto independent grocery store Fiesta Farms.)

Cook pasta according to package. When cooked al dente, strain but set aside 1/2 cup of pasta water.

In a large saucepan, sauté shallot, red pepper and eggplant until slightly softened. Add in marinara and season with salt and pepper. Mix in cashew cream cheese, stir thoroughly.

Wilt spinach in sauce. Remove from heat and add in cooked pasta.

Transfer pasta mixture into a large baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Allow to cool, garnish with fresh basil and chili flakes.

Rachael Hunt has been living with a severe gluten intolerance since 2013. She founded GlutenFreedom Inc.—a resource for dining, cooking, traveling and living gluten free—to provide a platform for others navigating the challenges of going GF. Here she’s at the checkout counter at Fiesta Farms with all the ingredients for her Creamy Tomato Pasta Bake.

We are so excited to welcome back Italpasta to Gluten Free Garage
for the 5th time as a Gold sponsor!

They’ll be sampling their new gluten-free pasta—made from a blend of corn, white and brown rice, buckwheat and quinoa—that’s GMO free and certified gluten-free from the Gluten-Free Certification Program. Available in penne, fusilli, elbows and spaghetti, it looks and tastes like regular pasta. We can’t wait to taste what they’ll be serving up at #GFG17!

One of seven flavours of Neal Brothers kettle chips, these were made in collaboration with Vikram Vij, owner of Vij’s award-winning Indian restaurant in Vancouver and former Dragon on CBC’s Dragon’s Den. They are, wait for it…Delhi-licious! Full of flavour and spice and salty lick-your-fingers goodness, they’re so tasty that I’m eating them right now as I type this at 11:51 pm.

Not to mention versatile. Besides being an outstanding choice of munchie, they can also play a supporting role in quick and tasty meals. Crush them up and use instead of breadcrumbs for coating chicken or fish. Or crumble them on top of casseroles. Because they’re already flavoured with natural Indian spices, and a hint of mango sweetness, you can skip the spice cabinet.

These crispy onion rings are super easy to make and will satisfy your cravings (because, come on, when’s the last time you had an onion ring?).

Pulse chips and cornmeal in a food processor to form a fine flour. Pour into a mixing bowl.

Pour buttermilk into another bowl. Dip 1-2 rings at a time in buttermilk first, then press crumb mixture firmly into each ring (if it’s not sticking well, sprinkle some gluten-free flour into the crumb mixture).

Place coated onions on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 15 minutes. You may need to do 2-3 batches at a time.

Serve with Neal Brothers Lime Mayo for dipping (also tastes amazing on BBQ’d corn on the cob, see below!).

Tastes like summer: corn on the cob slathered in Neal Brothers lime mayo and grilled on the BBQ.

Neal Brothers Foods is a Silver sponsor of #GFG17 and veteran of Gluten Free Garage since our very first market in 2012!
Find them opposite Ste. Anne’s Bakery at the Wychwood (east) side of the Barns on May 28th.

This is me in one of my happy places—the eucalyptus steam room at Ste. Anne’s Spa. The only thing I was more excited about at my most recent visit to Ste. Anne’s was the bakery. Whether sweet or savoury, there were so many delectable gluten-free baked goods! Ste. Anne’s, an inn and health spa, has been a popular getaway for relaxation and rejuvenation for years. Now it’s also become a destination for people who are gluten free because of its delicious and celiac-safe gluten-free offerings (however, not all of the meals are GF, so be sure to tell the staff about your dietary needs). And it’s all thanks to Ste. Anne’s Bakery. To find out more about this little bakery in Grafton, Ontario, read our interview below with Ste. Anne’s Bakery manager David Salazar.

“Our facility is certified by the Gluten Free Certification Program, so everything in the bakery is 100% gluten free. It’s been a dedicated gluten-free facility for a couple of years now. We use organic certified gluten-free flour, a formula we developed that we still work with. Some of the baked goods are also vegan. We’re trying to offer more vegan options because we’re getting a lot of requests for this now. The bakery is like a lab because we have to try one product several times until we feel it’s ready to share it with the rest of the world. There’s math involved, too, because you have to make sure to have certain ratios of protein to starch.”

“The bread is the most popular product we offer, then the granola, the cookies, and the rest of the cakes and desserts. We offer fresh-baked gluten-free bread every day. Our most popular varieties are the multigrain, which we call five-seed bread, the almond milk bread, and the herb and cheddar cheese bread. We also bake vegan bread and cinnamon raisin, which goes over so well with the kids! Many stores have gotten into the habit of only selling frozen gluten-free breads. Ours is sold fresh. We don’t use any preservatives, so we recommend keeping the bread on your counter for three to four days and then putting in the freezer if you want to keep it for a longer time.” [Click here to see where to find the bread in Toronto.]

“And focaccia! They serve the focaccia in the restaurant at the spa. [Editor’s note: I asked for seconds with my lunch.] We also create products for the spa—for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. When the executive chef comes up with an idea and says he’s looking for a new dessert and he saw this cake in Italy and can we do it gluten free, I meet with my team and we develop something. Right now we’re working on a recipe for puff pastry. It’s a huge challenge.”

“The granola is a real part of the Ste. Anne’s experience: a high-quality organic mix of GF-certified seeds and nuts seasoned with Ste. Anne’s honey butter and spices. That’s all we use. We let the ingredients speak for themselves.”

“Our baked goods have a unique taste because we use ingredients that we grow on our own property. A lot of flavours used in the bakery are from our garden, including the extracts—rosemary, rose, lavender. We try to use a farm-to-table practice, and we’re lucky that we have this property and the staff to help us produce a lot of fresh ingredients. The honey used in our bread is also from our property.”

“This is where the magic happens. What we have here is walnut-almond banana bread.”

“Customers come to the bakery from all over the place, it’s not just spa guests. We offer lunch here—quesadilla, panini, empanada, quiche. We like to follow the requests of our guests when it comes to developing new products. Interestingly, a lot of them are not gluten free, they’re just looking for healthy choices.”

Ste. Anne’s Bakery is a Silver sponsor of #GFG17 and a new vendor we’re excited to welcome!
Find them opposite Neal Brothers Foods at the Wychwood (east) side of the Barns on May 28th.

CONTEST ALERT!
Fill out a ballot at Gluten Free Garage to win an All-Inclusive Day Spa for Two at Ste. Anne’s!
This deliciously relaxing getaway includes (per person):
$120 spa allowance, 3-course lunch, afternoon tea and complete use of the facilities. Approximate value is $542.40

Our list of 11 must-have products to keep you going all winter long. All are GF, of course! And all except for one are made in Canada.

(Clockwise from top left)

READ ITGFF (Gluten-Free Forever) Magazine. The gorgeous winter 2017 issue has six delish soup recipes to warm you up. We could eat up every issue of this quarterly magazine. gffmag.com (get $9 off the $35 subscription price with code winter17)

SAVOUR IT
Chocosol Traders Luscious Coconut (70% cacao). Because chocolate and coconut. This stuff is the real deal. chocosoltraders.com

HEAT IT UP
No.7 Mexican Hot Sauce. Spice up your food and clear your sinuses with habanero or a variety of other hot numbers. no7hotsauce.com

DRINK IT
Chaiwala Chai Original Masala Chai. Boost your immune system and ease indigestion with this 100% natural chai blend of fresh ginger root, ground spices and organic honey. Learn how to make a hot chai latte at chaiwalachai.com

RUB IT IN
Giddy Yoyo Raw Love Butter. Slather on this body butter from head to toe to keep your skin soft and supple. Oh, and it’s edible and tastes like chocolate. shop.giddyyoyo.com

SEAL IT WITH A KISS
Sudsatorium Great White North Lip Balm. Kiss cracked lips goodbye because this balm is the bomb. As per the packaging: “Heal lips the Canadian way with maple syrup, eh!” sudsatorium.com

SPRAY IT
Beekeeper’s Naturals Propolis Spray. A few spritzes a day keeps the doctor away—for colds, coughs, sore throats and inflammation. I swear by this stuff. beekeepersnaturals.com

EAT IT
Bunner’s Bakeshop Supersonic Cookies. The cookies that helped launch Bunner’s! Loaded with chocolate chips, cranberries, pumpkin, sunflower and flax seeds, these GF vegan wonders are a must-eat any time of year. My fave mid-day treat with a cup of hot tea. bunners.ca

FACE IT
Aromacentric Face It Oil. Just a few drops of this liquid gold hydrates and nourishes your skin so you shine. With essential oils neroli and jasmine, you’ll also smell divine. aromacentric.com

SIP IT
The Honest Leaf Serene Tea. Make way for sweet dreams with this caffeine-free mint tea that takes the chill off and calms your mind and body. honestleaf.com